Zhuang, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at UB, said $273.1 billion, or 83 percent, of the cost can be traced to outfitting new buildings with fire prevention systems, operating fire departments, fire insurance and other expenditures.

The cost associated with losses — such as deaths, injuries and destruction of property — was $55.4 billion.

Here is a breakdown of the costs (in 2014 dollars):

The report does not include some costs such as industry-owned fire departments, the cost of water for firefighting and the cost of enhancing fire protection systems in existing buildings.

Other highlights of the report include:

* The total cost of structural fire in the U.S. states has increased by 50 percent from 1980 to 2014, from $218.5 billion to $328.5 billion (both in 2014 dollars).

* The total cost of structural fire in the U.S. as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product has dropped from 7.6 percent in 1980 to 1.9 percent in 2014, a 75 percent decrease.

The report is an update of a previous NFPA report issued in March 2014 which found the total cost of structural fires in the U.S. in 2011 to be $328.7 billion. The latest report uses a different methodology. It puts the total cost of structural fires in the U.S. in 2011 at $297 billion.

The research was funded by the Fire Protection Research Foundation, which is a research affiliate to the National Fire Protection Association.